James Spottedhorse took the lead and stopped just outside of the parking lot.
“Keep going,” I said, noting movement from the corner of my eye. “There are too many witnesses. You know the penalty for phasing in front of humans. The last two I know of had their throats ripped out,” I informed him in a conversational tone.
“Shut up, bitch,” James snarled.
“It’s your throat,” I sang.
“Why are you antagonizing him?” Tanis whispered.
I slammed my elbow into his stomach and he grunted. “This is werewolf business, keep your mouth shut and hands to yourself,” I warned under my breath, giving him a look, trying to explain that we aren’t alone and that we should, in theory, be okay.
Tanis glared at me, of course.
It didn’t take a werewolf with heightened senses to track the four vampires flanking us, or to smell the werewolves shadowing each of our movements. Either these three were exceptionally unobservant or they were suffering from atonement induced tunnel vision.
“Bjørnen sover, bjørnen sover, i sitt lune hi,” I mumbled under my breath as we went; I didn’t know where it came from, but the way the words flowed and the softness of the voice singing them in my head, made them appropriate for some reason. “Den er ikke farlig, bare vi går varlig. Men man kan jo, men man kan jo, aldri være trygg.”
Tanis looked at me curiously. “Kan du snakke norsk?” he mumbled under his breath, his eyes moving around the area.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what you just said, but what I do know is, it was hot,” I said with a smile.
He gave me a look.
“What?” I asked then giggled.
“That’s enough!” James snarled and spun around, his fist connecting with my the side of my face, knocking me into Tanis.
I was barely able to pull the irate vampire back before his fist broke through James’ skull.
“Nice,” I mumbled and moved my jaw back and forth to pop it back into place. “Ouch.”
James leveled the gun at my head. “We should have done this years ago, you abomination.”
And that was the wrong thing to say.
“You really shouldn’t have said that,” I snarled, and in a blur of movement, my hand was suddenly around his throat; I effortlessly hoisted him off of his feet and into the air, and the gun fell from his grasp.
That wasn’t entirely normal.
His dark complexion started to blanch and his eyes were wide in fear.
“It is one thing to insult me and call me an abomination,” I snarled. “That I can deal with because you aren’t the first to run their mouth, and I’m pretty damn sure you won’t be the last. I can even overlook and pardon your actions in coming on our land and threatening the princess of the Lhaq'temish…I will pardon you for those particular indiscretions. However, what I cannot and will not overlook and show leniency on is your attempt on the life of the prince of the Lhaq'temish...on my brother.”
“I didn’t touch your brother,” James choked, frantically clawing at my hand, trying to pull it from his neck but I was unmoving, murderous stone.
“But your brother did,” I snarled. “A knife to the kidneys would have killed him…Jarvis would have bled out before he could heal. The bloodshed that would have caused…” my words trailed off and I shook my head; it would have started a war between the Washington packs.
A blur of movement from the corner of my eyes caused my head to snap to the side.
“Stop!” I growled and d’Artagnan stopped in mid-snap, his hands on the side of Max Spottedhorse’s head; the young man whimpered, his neck was torqued farther than it was ever intended to turn.
d’Artagnan looked at me confused, his head tilting to the side slightly.
“What are you doing?” Tanis hissed, absently slamming his fist into the face of the third Spottedhorse, effortlessly knocking him out with one punch.
I’ll be the first to admit, that was sexy.
I smacked Tanis with my free hand. “Stop it,” I hissed, so he softly smacked me back.
d’Artagnan just stood there looking at me, as if he was waiting for instruction.
“Bloody hell, d’Artagnan, would just snap his neck already,” Tanis complained.
“No!” I shouted, and was surprised that d’Artagnan just continued to stand there looking at me. “This is a werewolf matter,” I told Tanis, pressing my thumb into James’ larynx when he started to growl.
“You are mine,” Tanis snarled under his breath, getting in my face. “I will not allow you to throw yourself in harm’s way because you think something is a werewolf matter! Simply because bloody werewolves are involved does not automatically make it a werewolf matter! They are nothing more than arseholes with wounded prides.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are you hearing yourself?” I rhetorically asked.
“Duckie,” he started to argue but groaning interrupted him.
“Shhh, the adults are talking,” I snapped at the nearly unconscious werewolf still dangling in midair. “Tanis, my parents are the alphas. When shit happens, I have to deal with it so they don’t have to. They are marred with enough blood trophies, I can’t...I don’t want their beautiful purity tarnished with scars because of me.”
Tanis shook his head. “Miss Jay Dee, that is their decision to make, not yours. These are not your matters to deal with,” he argued. “Your parents are adults-”
“As are you,” I pointed out.
“And a vampire,” he countered. “I am not Toran, thus werewolf matters have never been anything that I put me nose in, and yet I find meself doing just that in order to protect what is mine!” he snapped at me.
“Why are we arguing about...I’m yours?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
He blushed. “Have I not made my intentions painfully clear by now?” he countered, his eyes going between me and his brother.
Internally, I was doing the happy dance.
“Yes and no,” I admitted. “What exactly are your intentions?” I teased, but I really wanted to know.
Tanis gave me a look. “Bloody hell, Duckie, is this really where you want to have that discussion?” he countered. “Standing around with your friends, pack, and me family eavesdropping while they watch us deal with three werewolf...assassins?” he said and made a face, then blindly kicked the stirring man on the ground in the face, sending him sailing across the open field we were standing in the middle of. “Not to mention, me brother standing here as if he has lost his bloody mind?” He snapped his fingers in front of d’Artagnan’s face. “Hello, is anyone there?” he asked.
“Assassins?” I huffed. “Anything to make me the damn damsel in distress so you can, with a clear conscience, save the day by protecting me with your big vampire muscles.”
He shook his head. “Tone noted,” he said and I smiled wide.
“How long do you think I can hold him up for?” I asked, nearly forgetting that I was choking out a werewolf who was three times older than me, trying to change the subject since I didn’t want to talk about intentions with the lingering werewolves and vampires within hearing distance, let alone, his annoying brother being right in front of us.
“Go home, d’Artagnan,” I groaned. “This isn’t your fight and you just want to kill shit to kill it, and if you must know, that would be counterproductive to say the least.”
Absently, d’Artagnan nodded and released his hold on Max and disappeared in a blur of movement.
“What in bloody hell?” Tanis mumble.
I shrugged. “Your annoying brother is the least of my concerns at the moment,” I reminded him, and the sound of the gun cocking pulled both of our attention to young werewolf on the ground.
“Next time, just let me brother kill him,” Tanis grumbled.
“Noted,” I dryly agreed.
Intently, I looked into Max’s eyes; Dad once told me that you can judge the character of a person, especially a man, by simply looking into their eyes. And since the eyes are the windows of the soul, they hold all our secrets and can tell much about a person.
The gun wildly shaking in his hand stopped moving around and his large brown eyes slowly widened, the pupils dilating and consumed the brown with black.
That wasn’t normal either.
“Max, you are not a killer,” I informed him in a low, seductive voice.
Where the hell did that come from?
“I’m not?” Max asked and he lowered the gun.
“You’re not. You know this is wrong,” I continued. “You don’t want to hurt me, or my friends.”
He nodded and dropped the gun to the ground.
“Go home, Max,” I said and he absently smiled, and started to turn when the light reflected off of the silver pendant around his neck.
“Stop!” I snarled as my head started spin and a freezing chill crept across my skin, my breathing labored and came out in choked gasps...
...“Kaia, you cannot stay in the area any longer,” Toran warned, caressing the little girl’s head. “I know some wolves, they are my friends, and they have offered to keep you safe.”
The little girl huffed, blowing her white bangs out of her eyes as she watched the ships in the distance raise their sails. When the wind caught them, the black sails blended into the darkened horizon, leaving the red circle with a silver rectangle housing a gold sunburst in the center appear as if they were floating in midair, and to the young girl’s eyes, it was a glowing beacon of death which was constantly stalking her.
“All will be well, Kaia,” he assured her.
“I do not understand, Toran, why I cannot simply stay with you. For the past five years you have acted as my father, mentor, brother, guardian, and friend. I do not understand why that must change,” she argued, her soprano voice carrying along the breeze.
“I am a vampire and you are a werewolf. You need to be with your own kind. They will protect you.”
“But I do not want to leave you,” she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest and stomped her feet. “The war ended over a century ago, Toran, thus there is no reason why our two species cannot peacefully coexist.”
“If it was only that simple, Kaia. They will stop at nothing...” his words trailed off when tears rolled down her round cheeks.
The rolling waves rocked the schooner, and the salty spray stung Kaia’s large, black eyes, but she was determined. She glared at Toran, trying to cause him to waiver. “I do not want to go where you are taking me. You cannot make me.”
Toran shook his head and looked away from her. “Kaia, do not do that,” he warned.
“Give me one good reason why,” she countered, her jaw set in determination that rivaled those with centuries of life and battle behind them.
He knelt in front of her and forced a smile. “The Aslak nearly killed you a dozen times already. This last time was much too close for comfort. They nearly succeeded in taking the crown and that I cannot permit to happen...you mean more to me than anything, even the crown, thus I cannot lose you. The only way to hide you until you are ready to fulfill your destiny is to keep you with your own kind. I will always be keeping an eye on you, even if you do not know I am there.”
More tears started to well in her eyes but she stubbornly wiped them away. “Who are these people you think can protect me?”
“Dear old friends,” he assured her, but his overly simplistic answer wasn’t good enough for the angry child. “Reign and Sky are tribal leaders, alphas even, and they will raise you and treat you as their own. Many years ago, the Gods took from them a child, a daughter with raven black hair and eyes the deepest shade of gray ever found in the eyes of a child, and with the loss, their hearts were closed. But the Gods would shine upon them and bless them with a son with eyes that rival the sun, thus you will not be alone.” Softly he caressed her head then pulled the necklace from under the collar of her dress and traced his thumb over the bed of Roman glass. “Everything will be okay, I promise...” his words trailed off as an explosion of light blinded them, the deck under their feet violently shook, and the sudden darkness was accompanied by freezing water that pulled the young child from Toran’s grasp...
...“Duckie?” Tanis shook my shoulder and I opened my hand, releasing James.
I looked around confused, struggling to catch my breath.
“What is wrong?” he demanded, cupping my face between his hands. “By God, you are freezing.”
Instantly my hand went to my necklace and my fingers caressed over the familiar shape.
“What’s wrong with him?” Steffen whispered, motioning towards Max with his chin.
The young man was standing there with one foot raised, as if he was frozen in place.
Yahto nuzzled his head against my hip, trying to get my attention, but I couldn’t pull my eyes off of the silver pendant around Max’s neck; the rectangle inside a circle, a sunburst in the middle, was seemingly glowing under the scare moonlight, a beacon in the darkness, one that I knew left nothing but blood and bodies in its wake.
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Kill them,” I said in a voice so cold and detached that it scared me.
I was still shaking by the time we got to Tanis’ house. I couldn’t believe that I just sentenced three people to death...one was barely my age. The wolves ran home after staining their maws in the blood I ordered them to shed. The vampires took care of the bodies. With merely a glance at Tanis, they knew exactly what to do without being told, and then they simply strolled home as if it was nothing.
“Duckie, are you...would you care to talk?” Tanis asked, turning the SUV off.
“No,” I whispered and shook my head.
“Are you sure?” he pressed.
“No,” I admitted.
He unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me over to his lap and hugged me tight.
“What have I done?” I stammered and started crying.
Tenderly he caressed my head while I sobbed in his arms. I was rather confident he thought I was being a stupid, young girl, but he couldn’t have understood that I had never killed before. Animals—deer, mountain lions, a bear when I was fifteen that I stumbled across with Jarvis, resulting in getting grounded for nearly a year, then there was a seal on a dare, a couple raccoons and rams, and the yearly whale on the beach with the Quileute pack—were a means to survive, nothing more and nothing less, but never had I taken the life of another werewolf. I always turned my nose up at those who would brag about their blood trophies—Jarvis never took pride in his, and unfortunately they were only collected because of something that involved me—but now, myself, had three of them...in my mind.
“Talk to me, Duckie,” Tanis whispered.
“I...I...I need my brother,” I whispered, and his face dropped.
Thankfully, Tanis didn’t press the matter and thumbed through the Bluetooth connected phonebook on the digital display in the dash and pressed SEND when he found MONGREL...something I would address later.
After three rings, the other side picked up.
“What happened?” Jarvis demanded, his voice echoing throughout the SUV’s interior.
“I...I...killed three people,” I stammered and started crying again.
“Sis?” Jarvis choked. “Count Suckula, what happened?” he stammered. “Is she okay?”
“Mr. Jarvis,” Tanis greeted. “There was an incident at the fair and the Spottedhorses demanded atonement for your indiscretion.”
“Shit!” he hissed. “I knew I should have killed all of those bastards. Is she okay?”
Tanis looked at me and sighed. “Not in the least.”
“Jay, it isn’t your fault. It’s us or them,” he reassured me.
“I know,” I whispered. “But still-”
“The others took care of it,” Tanis interrupted. “Miss Jay Dee spilt no blood.”
Jarvis snorted. “But she ordered it,” he surmised. “Jay has no blood trophies, and she detests those who boast of theirs...she’s a really shitty werewolf.”
“Hey!” I complained and he chuckled; only Jarvis could effortlessly pull me from hysterics and unfathomable despair to completely forgetting about the guilt I was harboring. “Not cool, Bro.”
He sighed. “I know, but still. Look at your arm.”
Of course I did as he asked, I usually did.
“What do you see?” he whispered.
I smiled. “Smooth, light tan skin,” I admitted.
“Just because you ordered it, Sis, doesn’t mean that their blood is on your hands. Please don’t...I’m sorry that I caused this.”
“Did you give him the gun?” I countered and absently started playing with Tanis’ ring, sliding it back and forth on the chain while my fingers spun it around on my little finger.
“They pulled a gun on you?” he snarled. “Those bastards! They just started a goddamn war.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did you miss everything I just say? They are dead. Who are you going to fight? Ghosts?”
“That isn’t funny,” he hissed before chuckling. “Okay, that’s funny. What’d Mom and Dad say?”
I shrugged.
After a moment of silence, Jarvis groaned. “Dude, did she seriously just shrug?”
“Yes,” Tanis said, his eyes moving over my face many times.
“She’s so damn predictable,” Jarvis sang.
“And she’s sitting right here,” I sang in return.
“Why didn’t you just thrall them into shooting each other, Count Suckula?” Jarvis asked. “Or, at the very least, mess with their heads so they’d only throw it in five-hundred pound bitches. That would have been hilarious.” And he roared with laughter.
I laughed as well, but Tanis found no amusement in it.
“Mythical creatures are immune to thrall,” Tanis said, his eyes studying mine closely. “It is a means, according to lore, to prevent the superior race from trying to take control of the mythical world.”
“What’s wrong?” I mouthed.
Tanis shook his head.
“Sis?” Jarvis said.
“Yeah, I’m here,” I said, looking at Tanis curiously; something was on his mind. “I’m sorry for bugging you so early in the morning over there, Bro... I miss you.”
“I miss you too, Sis. I’ll be home for Christmas before you know it, and then you’ll be trying to get rid of me before I even unpack.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I mumbled; I hated him being gone.
Jarvis snorted, the way he did when he was trying to be cool and save face in front of the guys. “Count Suckula, if you let anything happen to her, I’ll figure out a way to kill you, and unlike my baby sister, I have blood trophies.”
“I will not let her out of my sight, Mr. Jarvis,” he assured him.
“I love you, Bro,” I whispered.
“I love you, too. I’ll call you tonight,” he assured me before hanging up.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I whispered, unable to look at him.
Tanis took my hand in his and kissed it. “I am simply deep in thought,” he assured me.
I huffed and nuzzled my face against the side of his neck. “You lie nearly as bad as I do,” I grumbled under my breath and continued to preoccupy myself with his ring. “When you’re ready to tell me, will you?”
He kissed my head. “Of course, Duckie.”
For some reason, I didn’t believe him.